A trip to the blumen field!

I needed some practice with my new macro lens so I decided to go to the blumen field and see what I could find. There were so many beautiful interesting flowers, I was in heaven. As I started to take pictures, I really started to realize the difficulty with macro photography and realized I really needed a tripod. Trying to keep a steady hand, compensate for the wind and figure out settings were definitely a challenge. But I think I got a couple decent shots and some great practice. I'll definitely be heading back out there again to see what else I can find!

Well hello, Mr. Grasshopper!

Hello, Mr. One-Legged Grasshopper! Not quite sure how this little guy lost a leg, but he ended up in my kitchen, giving me an opportunity for a little macro practice.
f/4.5
Exp. 1/200
ISO 1000
52mm

Unfortunately, this house is patrolled by fierce grasshopper hunters. You can guess how this story ends....
f/4.5
Exp. 1/200
ISO 1000
127mm

European adventure.

My three sisters and Mom recently visited us and we took a whirlwind European trip. I haven't really had a lot of time to sort through pictures and process them, but here are a few of my favorites.

I guess I went a little crazy at the Eiffel Tower and took some at dusk, directly under the tower and then later at night.Inside Notre Dame during Mass. Normally I do not take pictures during mass and I still feel a little guilty about this one. It was taken off to the side and not in the pews so I'd like to think I'll be forgiven.

My garden is blooming!

I am not the best gardener and flowers are definitely not my specialty in photography, but I had to get some pictures of my first blooms in my very own garden. I have never actually grown my own garden so this is really exciting for me. I bought the bulbs in Amsterdam during our last visit and they are fall bloom flowers. Sure enough, these babies are starting to grow and bloom, I can't believe it.

I'm have no idea what kind of flower this one is, but I almost thought it was a weed until I saw the buds.

85mm
Exp. 1/200
f/4
ISO 640
I have always loved eggplant calla lilies so I thought I would give it a shot and try to grow some. I was so excited to see that one of my first flowers was a beautiful dark purple calla. My poor photography does not do this flower justice, it is gorgeous.

60mm
Exp. 1/50
f/5.6
ISO 640

A wedding in Chicago

The last couple of weeks we have been traveling back to the States to visit family in Michigan and attend a family wedding (in-law side) in Chicago. I didn't get out to photograph as many sites as I would have liked due to wedding and family events, but I did get a couple shots of the fabulous food at the Rehearsal Dinner at DuChamp's in Chicago.

Just looking at these photos makes me hungry! The Groom is French and he had several French family members in town for the wedding. A couple of them are very talented chefs, so we ate quite well.

Another trip to the Weinstrasse!

Since the Weinstrasse is so close to our house, it is the perfect day trip on a lazy weekend. So we headed out for another trip with some friends and came back with another 3 cases of wine and some pictures from our trip.

I can already see that I definitely need to work on my white balance, and probably should get my computer/monitor calibrated.

Exp. 1/800
f/5.6
24mm
ISO 320

Exp. 1/50
f/3.2
24mm
ISO 2500

Avoiding housework!

Since I am trying to avoid doing housework on this lazy Sunday, I have decided to update my neglected photo blog. It's not that we haven't traveled to some great places or that I haven't taken any photos, but basically, I've been lazy.

During one gorgeous weekend, we headed to the Deutsche Weinstrasse (German Wine Road), which is not far from our house. We took a wrong turn and accidentally headed up to the Hambacher Castle, so we stopped for some photos.

In the town of St. Martin, we stopped for a weinprobe (wine tasting) at one of the little shops. I got this shot of their stacks of wine bottles and crates that they had in the shop.

Over Memorial Day weekend, we headed to Brussels and Amsterdam for some sightseeing with friends. This was my second trip to both and Brandon's first. It rained the entire time in Amsterdam so I have almost no pictures from our time there, but here are a couple from Brussels.

Chi-Chi's is extinct in the United States and one of my favorite restaurants, so when we saw a Chi-Chi's in Brussels, we had to stop. After years of living in Europe, I don't feel bad when we stop and eat at "American" restaurants. And trust me, we most definitely enjoyed the local food and drinks in Brussels...yummy chocolate and chips! Apparently I was too busy eating to get some good shots of chocolate and chips/frites. But here is a photo of the wonderful Chi-Chi's margarita.


Brussels is famous for their beer, and there was definitely no shortage of fabulous beers in this city. There are literally hundreds of beers to choose from in this city.


There was some great graffiti near one of the pubs we ate at, so I had my friend pose for a shot in front of it. She did her best "Tyra" pose for me!

Pretty Girl!

Exp 1/125
F/4
66mm
ISO 500
It is a cold and rainy Saturday so I have zero motivation to go outside. Instead, I am staying in with my husband and kitties. I really wish that I hadn't chopped off the top of Mia's ear, but it is still a cute shot of her. I really think that she is a bit of a camera whore, she seems to love when I get out my camera and take pictures of her.